


Not So Villainous

by Nakira Taisho (nakirataisho)



Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: F/M, Hades shares custody with Maleficent, Minor Doug/Evie (Disney: Descendants), Past Mal/Harry Hook, Past Mal/Uma (Disney), Past Mal/Uma/Harry, Series Rewrite
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-17
Updated: 2021-03-24
Packaged: 2021-03-25 19:40:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,713
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/30094113
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/nakirataisho/pseuds/Nakira%20Taisho
Summary: When Hades and Maleficent divorced, Hades pushed for shared custody of Mal. So, Mal grew up alternating two weeks with her mother and two weeks with her father. Until she and three of her friends are sent to Auradon, that is...
Relationships: Ben/Mal (Disney: Descendants), Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil, Jane & Mal (Disney: Descendants)
Comments: 1
Kudos: 24





	1. (Not So) Rotten to the Core

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mal and three of her friends transfer to Auradon Prep

"Dad…what do you think it means when you have the same dream over and over about a guy you've never met…?" Mal asked her father as they sat at the dinner table.

"Well, all things considered Maly," Hades sighed. "It could mean anything. I'm no expert in the dream department, you know."

"I know…but all I could get out of my teachers was vague abstract meanings to individual things that were featured in the dream…"

"It could have also been a literal vision of the future," her father said lightly. "You never know."

"But the place in my dream is nowhere on any of the isles, and I've met just about everyone my age around here," she argued. "How could it have been a literal vision?"

"We'll see."

* * *

⏱⏱⏱

Mal was not looking forward to going back to her mother's. She much preferred the caves her father called home (and not just because she could use a little magic down there) over constantly listening to her mother plot revenge. Her father was content to hang out in the caves and work with her on school work or her magic. Another perk to her two weeks with her father was the fact that she could still use a little magic outside the caves for a few days after her visits ~~as long as she was boring about it~~.

As it stood, she met up with Evie outside the caves and they went to get together with Jay, Carlos, Uma, and Harry at the docks. She greeted her exes with a hug and they headed out to make mischief in the streets of the city. The chaos turned into a flash mob and Mal snatched a suspicious looking candy from a baby in a wagon.

"Poison be--" she started to whisper, poised to take a lick of the candy, when she heard everyone around them except her gang shout in distress and scatter.

"Stealing candy, Mal? I'm so disappointed…," her mother drawled and Mal made a face before turning to her mother.

"It was from a baby?" she tried to sate the mad villainess with that little titbit before going to put the treat in her mouth and finish her spell. The candy was snatched from her hand and she stared blankly at her empty fist.

"That's my nasty little girl!" Maleficent spat on the candy and held it in her armpit for a long moment and Mal gagged a little.

"Really, Mom?!"

"Give it back to the dreadful creature," Maleficent instructed one of her goons, handing the candy to them.

"Was that _really_ necessary, Mom?" she groaned, glancing at the mother and child as her mother's goon gave them the candy. "Poison be revealed, make safe the sweet and flavour be sealed," she hissed. The candy glowed red for a moment before the tot put the sweet in his mouth.

"It's the deets, Darling, that make the difference between mean…," Maleficent waved to the mother with faux kindness. "And truly _evil_. When I was your age, I was--"

"Cursing entire kingdoms," Mal finished for her in a mocking tone. "I know…"

"Oh, you…walk with me," Maleficent laughed and draped an arm over Mal's shoulder. She vaguely heard Uma and Harry exit the situation with vague excuses as her mother tugged her along. "See, I'm just trying to teach you the thing that really counts…how to be me. And that's hard enough with your father sticking his nose into things."

"Well, you're the one that agreed to it…," she muttered.

"Oh!" Maleficent gasped and Mal cringed away from her as her mother whirled around and nearly struck Mal with her staff. "There's news! I buried the lead. You four…have been invited to go to a different school. In Auradon," she said grandly, gesturing toward the mainland with her staff. Mal started to turn to her friends as they tried to scramble away. Maleficent's henchmen stopped the three of them and Mal pressed her hand to her forehead.

"What? I'm not going to some boarding school filled to the brim with prissy pink princesses," she argued. Not to mention what she'd have to deal with being _Maleficent's daughter_ in a place that hated the villains enough to lock them all away on an island chain.

"And perfect princes…," Evie sighed. Mal shot her a look and Evie faked a grimace.

"Yeah…and I don't do uniforms…," Jay laughed. "Unless it's leather, you feel me?"

"I…read somewhere they let dogs in Auradon…," Carlos mumbled. "Mom says they're rabid pack animals that eat boys who don't behave…"

"Yeah…we're not going," Mal argued.

"Oh, you're thinking small Pumpkin. It's all about world domination," Maleficent drawled, gesturing her henchmen to push the group of kids to follow her. Mal groaned and went to the living room of her mother's lair above Bargain Castle. "You will go," Maleficent said sharply, sitting in her 'throne'. "You will find the Fairy Godmother…and you will bring me her magic wand. Easy Pease."

"What's in it for us?" she asked, considering. Her mother wouldn't be able to _use_ the wand within the barrier. For the same reason Mal couldn't use magic outside of the caves unless it was ~~boring~~ with good intentions. But with the wand, she could poke a hole in the barrier and free her father.

"Matching thrones?" Maleficent laughed, snapping Mal from her thoughts. "Hers-and-hers crowns?"

"I think she meant for us…," Carlos mumbled, gesturing to Mal's group of friends.

"It's all about you and me, baby," Maleficent said, ignoring him as she leaned forward and met Mal's eyes. "Do you enjoy watching innocent people suffer?"

"Well…yeah," she mumbled. "I mean…who doesn't?" She hoped she sounded convincing.

"Well! Then get me the wand!" Maleficent ordered before going on a rant about bending both good and evil to her will. Mal tuned out her mother's rant, coming up with her own plan. Her mother couldn't pester her on the mainland, and if she could get her father off the isles maybe they could start over. Maleficent snapped and Mal blinked, looking at her mother. "And if you refuse, you're grounded for the rest of your life, Missy."

"You'd have to run that by Dad first," she reminded her and Maleficent glared at her, her eyes glowing as she attempted to magically dominate Mal. Mal narrowed her eyes.

"Mal…," Evie muttered, distracting her.

"I win," Maleficent laughed.

"Fine…whatever," she groaned and went to her room to pack. Evie joined her after a moment. "Thanks for distracting me…," she mumbled.

"Well, your eyes were turning blue…if anyone else noticed it…you said you don't want anyone else knowing who your dad is…"

"Okay, that's reasonable," she sighed, heading back to the living room. Her mother was in the middle of another rant, reprimanding the other villains. The group ceded to the plan and disbursed so the teens could get packed.

"E.Q. the mirror," Maleficent demanded.

"When we get home," the Evil Queen groaned.

"Fine! And Mal…help me with the safe!"

"Mom…it's a _freezer_ ," she snapped, opening the appliance in question. " _Not_ a safe. You literally just pull the handle." Her mother reached into the freezer and pulled out her spell book. The older woman fumbled with the frozen book for a moment.

"My spell book…it doesn't work here, but it will in Auradon," Maleficent explained, petting the book. "So many memories…and with it…you'll make memories of your own. By doing _exactly as I tell you_."

* * *

⏱⏱⏱

After she finished her last bit of packing, Mal went back to the caves to let her dad know about getting dragged to Auradon. He seemed pretty happy for her.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do," he encouraged her, giving her a crushing hug. "I'll miss you, Kiddo."

"I'll miss you, too, Dad," she told him. "I should go to the wharf and let Uma and the crew know." She left the caves and headed for the _Lost Revenge_.

"Mal!" Evie called to her. "There you are. The car's here."

"Already? But I need to talk to Uma…," she sighed.

"There's no telling how long they'll wait for us. We have to go," Evie sighed. "Uma will understand…"

"Yeah…I guess you're right…," she conceded and went with Evie back to Bargain Castle. A limo was waiting outside the building and Carlos was scrambling to get his bags in the trunk before hiding in the vehicle from his mother as she screamed at him trying to get him to stay. Jay was in the middle of stealing the hood ornament while no one was looking. Mal shook her head and got her bags.

"Mal," her mother snapped as she came into the living room. "The future of the free world rests on your shoulders. Don't blow it."

"Right…," she sighed and took her bags to the car. Once they were all in the car, the driver started to pull away. The boys found the candy and started diving in. Mal looked towards the wharf and sighed.

"You're looking a little washed out…," Evie sighed, pulling out her makeup. "Let me help you out…"

"Stop…I'm…," she trailed off, waving her friend off. "Plotting."

"Well, it's not very attractive."

Mal rolled her eyes and looked around the car. She found a remote and experimented with a few of the buttons. The window behind her rolled down as she pushed a button and she looked back. The limo was fast approaching the broken bridge and the barrier. It looked like they were about to be plunged into the bay.

"It's a trap!" Carlos shouted, clinging to Jay. Evie screeched and clung to Mal. Nothing changed as they came to the edge of the bridge. "What just happened…?" Mal pushed Evie back and they looked out the windows to see that a magical bridge was carrying them across the bay.

"It must be magic…," Evie whispered. Mal frowned and looked at the remote in her hand.

"Hey…did this button open the barrier…?" she asked carefully.

"No. That button opens my garage," the driver quipped. "This," he held up a golden remote. "Opens the magic barrier. And this button…," he trailed off, reaching up to press another button that rolled up the window between them.

"Okay. Nasty," she laughed. "I like that guy."

It wasn't long before they pulled up to a castle and Mal could hear the band going. The car stopped while Jay and Carlos were wrestling over a blanket. Jay had already tried to pocket most of the valuables in the limo and had run out of space to hide them. The door opened and the two boys tumbled out of the car. The band came to a cacophonous halt.

Mal shook her head while they fought over the blanket and picked her way out of the car. Evie did the same and she noticed that they were being watched by the crowd that was gathered. She kicked Jay on the butt.

"Guys," she tried. They two continued rolling as they fought for the blanket. "Guys! We have an audience," she growled and they finally stopped. Carlos scrambled to his feet and snatched the blanket from Jay.

"Just…," Jay cleared his throat, trying to hide the things he'd swiped. "Cleaning up." An older woman in blue approached them.

"Leave it like you found it," she said in a lilting singsong. "And by that…I just mean _leave it_ ," she clarified sternly, levelling a severe look at the two boys, who promptly tossed their acquisitions back into the limo with sheepish grins. Then, Jay noticed the princess standing beside the woman.

"Hello foxy," he greeted, approaching the girl and brushing his hair back, clearly trying to be impressive. Mal had to stifle a giggle. "The name's Jay."

"Welcome to Auradon Prep," the woman interjected when Jay got nothing but an almost disgusted look from the princess. "I'm Fairy Godmother, headmistress."

" _The_ Fairy Godmother?" Mal asked. She'd thought the Fairy Godmother was an old woman. "As in…bibbidi-bobbidi boo?"

"Bibbidi-bobbidi, you know it!" the woman laughed. She guessed a pure fairy could look however they wanted.

"Wow…okay then. I always wondered how it felt for Cinderella when you just showed up out of nowhere with that sparkly wand and just zapped her out of obscurity," she sighed.

"Oh, that was a long time ago…," Fairy Godmother said gently. "And as I always say, 'don't focus on the past, or you'll miss the future'," she said with a gesture. A prince stepped forward and Mal's breath caught. The boy from her dreams.

"It's so good to finally meet you all," the prince greeted and his eyes locked on Mal's. "I'm Ben."

" _Prince_ Benjamin," the princess corrected, stepping forward. "Soon to be king."

"You had me at 'prince'," Evie sighed dreamily, stepping forward. "My mom's a queen, which makes me a princess."

"The Evil Queen has no royal status here," the princess quipped. Evie stepped back a bit. "And neither do you."

"This is Audrey," Ben said lightly, looking away from Mal.

" _Princess_ Audrey," she corrected sharply. "His girlfriend." With those two words Mal's heart sank. Her dream had been a date, but maybe her teachers had been right and it was just an abstract thing. "Right, Benny-boo?" He made a face and his eyes locked with Mal's again. Fairy Godmother said something, but Mal didn't hear, lost in Ben's gaze and wondering just what would happen.

"The doors of wisdom are never shut!" Fairy Godmother shouted, snapping Mal from her daze. She blinked and looked at the older fairy. "But…the library hours _are_ from 8 to 11 and we do have a thing called 'curfew' at midnight. Which I have a thing about," the woman said sharply before leading the band away.

"It is so, so, so good," Ben started, approaching them. "To finally me--" Jay punched his shoulder as a greeting when he got close enough and Ben paused to catch his breath. "Meet you all," he continued, moving to shake Mal's hand. He paused for a long moment, staring into her eyes. "This is a momentous occasion," he said, snapping his gaze away from her and moving on to shake hands with Carlos. "And one that I hope will go down in history…," he trailed off, seeing chocolate on his hand. "Is that chocolate?" he mumbled before moving on to Evie. "As the day our two peoples began to heal."

"Or, the day that you showed four peoples where the bathrooms are," Mal quipped.

"A little bit over the top?" he laughed.

"A little more than a little bit," she agreed. "But seriously…bathrooms?"

"Well…so much for my first impression," he sighed and turned towards the school.

"Hey!" Audrey said before they could follow Ben. "You're Maleficent's daughter, aren't you? Yeah, you know what?" she said sharply. "I _totally_ do not blame you for your mother trying to kill my parents and stuff. Oh, my mom's Aurora. Sleeping--"

"Beauty," Mal quipped, cutting her off. She already wanted to put some sort of hex on this particular princess. "Yeah, I've heard the name," she sighed. "You know, and I totally do not blame your grandparents for inviting everyone in the whole world but my mother to their stupid christening," she told the princess in a tone to match Audrey's thinly veiled venom.

"Water under the bridge," Audrey agreed icily.

"Totes!" Mal agreed just as coldly.

"Okay!" Ben laughed, trying to lighten the mood. "So, how about that tour? Yeah?" he grabbed Audrey's arm and tugged her toward the castle. Mal and the others followed. "Auradon Prep, originally built over 300 years ago and converted into a high school by my father when he became king." He paused by a bronze statue of the king and clapped his hands.

Carlos shrieked and leapt into Jay's arms as the statue shifted from human to beast with a loud creaking noise. Mal shook her head a little and laughed when Jay dropped Carlos to the ground with an annoyed grunt.

"Carlos," Ben laughed, moving to help him up. "It's okay. My father wanted his statue to morph from beast to man. To remind us that anything is possible."

"Does he shed much?" Mal joked.

"Yeah," Ben said lightly, re-joining Audrey. "Mom won't let him on the couch." Mal laughed with him as they headed into the school. They came to the foyer and stopped.

"So…you guys have a lot of magic here in Auradon? Like wands and things like that?"

"Yeah," he said. "It exists, of course. But it's pretty much retired. Most of us here are just…ordinary mortals."

"Who…happen to be kings and queens," Mal sighed. _Retired_ would mean she still couldn't use the magic that was part of her even though it was available to her.

"That's true," Audrey said dreamily, grabbing Ben's arm and forcibly draping it around her shoulders. "Our royal blood goes back _hundreds_ of years." Ben jerked away from her and looked to the stairs. His expression turned relieved.

"Doug!" he called and they all looked to a guy in the band uniform wearing glasses on his way down the stairs with his eyes on a clipboard. "Doug, come down," he urged and the boy looked up. He pushed his glasses up and rushed to join them. "This is Doug," Ben introduced. "He's going to help you with your class schedules and show you the rest of the dorms. I'll…," he trailed off, approaching Mal and catching her hand. "See you later, okay? And if there is _anything_ you need, feel free to--"

"Ask Doug," Audrey interrupted, yanking Ben away from Mal and out of the foyer.

"Well, she makes harpies look sweet…," she muttered.

"Hi, guys," Doug greeted when he got to the bottom of the stairs. "I'm Dopey's son. As in Dopey, Doc, Bashful, Happy, Grumpy, Sleepy, and…," he trailed off and gasped when he spotted Evie. "Heigh-ho…," he mumbled. Evie smirked and stepped forward.

"Evie. The Evil Queen's daughter," she introduced herself.

"Nice to…," he swallowed a little, though it didn't seem to be out of fear. "Meet you…," he mumbled before clearing his throat. "Okay, so…about your classes. I, uh…put in the requirements already…history of woodsmen and pirates…remedial computing…and uh…," he made a noise. "Remedial goodness 101…"

"Let me guess," Mal laughed. "New class? Come on, guys, let's go find our dorms. And those bathrooms."

"Well, the ladies' room is right down this hall…," Doug sighed, pointing. "And the dorms are in the east wing…"

"Thanks," Mal sighed, hurrying to the bathroom. Evie followed her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](https://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com/ask) or [buy me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/nakirataisho)


	2. Evil Like Me (or Not)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The first official day in Auradon has some surprises in store for Mal and the VKs

Mal rushed to the bathroom and Evie was hot on her trail.

"Mal? Are you okay?"

"Yeah…I just really needed to go? And…you remember that dream I told you about? With the lake and the picnic and the boy I'd never met?"

"Yeah, I thought someone said it was just an abstract thing…," Evie sighed, turning to the mirror to fix her makeup. Mal went to wash her hands.

"Considering we just met him," she sighed.

"Wait. _Ben_ was the boy in your dreams? So…do you think the rest of it will happen?"

"Not with him having a girlfriend," she muttered. "And besides, I am _not_ a prissy pink princess…"

"You're technically princess of the--"

"Evie!" she gasped, cutting her friend off. "With everything my _mom_ did, how do you think anyone here would react to finding out who my _dad_ is? Come on…let's catch up with the others and get settled in our dorm…"

"Okay," Evie sighed and they left the bathroom to meet with the guys in the foyer. "You guys didn't have to wait for us."

"Well, Doug had to go do boring band stuff?" Jay laughed. "So, he gave us the key to your room and so we kinda had to wait." He tossed the key to Mal and dragged Carlos up the stairs. Mal rolled her eyes and checked the tag on the key.

* * *

⏱⏱⏱

Mal and Evie got to their room and Mal unlocked the door. When she opened the door, she was blasted with sunlight and pink.

"Wow!" Evie gasped. "This place is so amaze--"

"Bright," Mal complained, cutting Evie off.

"I'll pull the curtains then," Evie said, rushing to darken the room a bit.

"Wait, E," she sighed. "I wanna try something."

"Try what?" Evie asked, quickly shutting the door. "Are you gonna use magic?"

"I'm…gonna try." She took a deep breath and pointed at the open curtains. She did as her father taught her and envisioned the curtains sliding closed. It took much less concentration than she was used to (she guessed she shouldn't have been surprised) for the curtains to respond to her magic reaching for them, and the room was darkened as all of the curtains in the room slid closed.

"Wow…and you didn't even have to use an incantation…," Evie gasped, applauding her.

"Not all spells need an incantation," Mal sighed, moving to pick a bed. "And yikes…do they not know any other colour besides _pink_?"

"Once we get settled in, you want to check in on the guys? It…hopefully won't be hard to find them."

"Sure," she agreed, moving to unpack. A small spell had her bedding changed from pink to purple and she admittedly enjoyed turning the floral pink curtains on her side of the room to a black and purple thorny-vine print.

* * *

⏱⏱⏱

It was harder than they thought it would be to find Jay and Carlos' dorm. If they hadn't bumped into Doug during the search, Mal figured it would be curfew before they found the right room. Doug pointed them in the right direction and they went to the room.

"Hey, guys," Mal greeted. She spotted Jay pulling things out of his usual hiding places. "Jay…you know you don't have to stock your dad's shoppe anymore…right?"

"I know. But I wanted this stuff, so…," he trailed off with a shrug. "And what do you care?"

"I care, because if we screw this up, we'll get shipped back to the Isles," she sighed.

"I thought that was the plan though," Jay groaned. "Steal Fairy Godmother's wand and get back to the Isles so our parents can get their revenge?"

"Yeah, Mal," Carlos agreed, barely looking away from the game he was playing. "I mean… _you're_ the one that agreed to your mom's plan."

"Like she wouldn't have stopped the limo from bringing us here if I hadn't?" she quipped. "We don't have to deal with our parents here."

"She's right…," Evie mumbled. "Unless you _liked_ scraping your mom's bunions?"

"Point made…," Carlos muttered and turned back to his game. "Hey, Jay, come check this thing out."

"Sure," Jay crossed the room to take the controllers from Carlos and hop up on the rail in front of the fireplace.

"How come your room is bigger and less pink than ours?" Evie asked idly, sitting on Carlos' bed to help him unpack the few belongings he'd managed to bring.

"Probably because they're boys," Mal said, looking through the stolen things on Jay's bed. "Our closet's probably bigger. You know, for the million dresses you haven't made yet."

"I need some fabric for that first," Evie laughed. "Let's go back to our room and--"

A gentle knock at the door startled Evie into silence and Carlos hurried to go answer it. Ben was standing in the hall.

"Oh good, you're all here. Dinner's being served in the dining hall. If you guys are hungry, I can show you the way?" he asked, studiously avoiding looking at Mal. She figured it might have been because of how many times he'd interrupted himself earlier if he met her eyes.

"Food sounds great!" Evie gasped. Jay turned the game off and hopped down from the rail.

"I could go for some food," Carlos said lightly. The four of them went with Ben to the dining hall and one of the first things Mal noticed was a poster for the drama club with her mother's silhouette.

"Hey…is that the show the Drama Club is putting on?" she asked, moving to get a closer look.

"It had been," a girl said sourly. "Until we heard about _you_ transferring here…"

"Really? Why'd you change it?"

"We didn't want to offend you guys," she grumbled.

"Oh, well…," she trailed off, looking at the poster again. "I don't know about the others, but it wouldn't offend me. In fact, I could give you guys some pointers on how nuts my mom is so you could portray her accurately if you decide to put this one on after all."

"We've already done the casting and started on sets and costumes for My Fair Lady and the Tramp," she sighed. "But really?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "I…actually kind of want to hear another side to that story. I've heard my mom's version way too many times."

"Mal!" Jay called. "We're sitting over here." She smiled at the drama kids and headed to join her friends.

* * *

⏱⏱⏱

When they got back to their dorm, Mal barely took the time to change into her pyjamas before crawling into bed and going to sleep. It had been a _long_ day. And though she expected to dream of the lake again, she found herself inside a building next to a spinning wheel. Something about the wheel felt familiar and the plaque under the tool declaring it as Maleficent's Spinning Wheel explained the feeling. She decided this had to be Auradon's museum.

Swallowing a little, she made her way through the museum and found an exhibit featuring the villains, wax statues of both of her parents included.

"The future of the free world rests on your shoulders," she heard her mother say and she could have sworn that the statue of Maleficent moved. "Don't blow it." She took a step back on instinct.

"Look at you…," she mumbled. "Look at me…" She looked at the statue of her father.

"Don't do anything I wouldn't do, baby girl," she recalled him telling her. She turned around and started to leave the exhibit.

"I know who I want to be…and this isn't it," she sighed. As she found her way through the museum, she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jolted, spinning around to see who touched her. Her _mother_ was standing behind her.

"I was once like you, you know," Maleficent told her. "Slightly insecure…I argued with my mother, too. Thought I was 'mature'," she laughed.

"I'm just not evil!" she argued as her mother broke into song, the dance herding her towards Fairy Godmother's Wand. "I don't want this," she insisted as her mother started gesturing to the wand.

"When you grab that wand, that's where your reign begins!" Maleficent declared.

"It's wrong!"

"Who wants an evil queen without a sack of sin?" her mother laughed. "This is not for us to _ponder_ ," she stated. "This was _pre-ordained_! You and I shall rule together!"

"No," she insisted.

"Just grab it! It's right there!"

"Mal?" Evie's voice cut through the air around her. "Mal, wake up…," she told her and Mal jerked awake, shaking her head. "You okay? You were tossing and shouting…"

"I just…had the weirdest dream…," she sighed, checking the clock on her bedside table. It was just about time for them to get ready for breakfast and classes.

"Wanna talk about it?"

"Not really…it was just weird," she said, trying to sound light as she got out of bed and went to get dressed. Once they were ready, they went to the dining hall. The girl from the drama club approached them as they were getting their meal.

"Hey, it's…Mal right? That's your name?"

"Yeah," she laughed. "And this is Evie. I didn't get your name yesterday…"

"It's April," the girl laughed. "I was wondering if you'd be interested in joining the drama club?"

"I kind of want to get used to things here first…," she sighed. "Maybe next year."

"Okay. Well, the offer's out there. For any of you," April said, looking at Evie. "We could always use more members…and there's more than just acting going on…we need costume designers…lighting…"

"Costume design?" Evie gasped. "As in sewing?"

"Yeah, you interested?"

"Of course! I love to sew," Evie laughed.

"Well, we could use the help! I don't know about you guys, but most of us have second period free…you could come by the theatre if you have the time then? Or we could get together at lunch?"

"I think we have Remedial Goodness during second period…," Evie grumbled. "I can do lunch though."

"E, I'm heading to grab a table," Mal sighed, leaving her to talk with April.

* * *

⏱⏱⏱

Mal tried to stay awake during Remedial Goodness, barely registering Fairy Godmother's dramatic quizzing. She got through the class by picking whatever seemed like something no one on the isles would ever do. The others seemed to be struggling, though.

"Mal?" Fairy Godmother questioned and she looked at the blackboard. Their 'instructor' was conveniently pointing at the question she wanted answered, so she looked over the answers listed.

"C, give it a bottle," she sighed.

"Correct. Again."

"You are on fire, girl!" Carlos gasped.

"Just…pick the one that would never happen on the isles," she told her friends.

"Oh," he mumbled.

"That makes so much sense," Evie laughed. Mal rolled her eyes and a squeaking gasp interrupted the lesson.

"Oh!" Fairy Godmother gasped. "Hello, dear one."

"H-Hi…," a girl mumbled, inching past the four of them. "You…need to sign off on early dismissal for the Coronation…," she said quietly, handing a folder to Fairy Godmother.

"Oh, of course," Fairy Godmother laughed and took the folder. "Have you all met my daughter, Jane?"

"Mom, no!" Jane hissed.

"It's okay, Jane," she encouraged. "This is Evie, Mal, Carlos and Jay," she said, pointing to each of them.

"H-Hi…," Jane whispered. "Don't mind me…as you were," she mumbled as she hurried out of the room.

"Right. Shall we continue?" Fairy Godmother laughed, turning back to the board. "You find a vial of poison. Do you…A, put it in the king's wine? B, paint it on an apple? Or C, turn it over to the proper authorities?" Carlos and Jay both raised their hands at the same time and Jay promptly tried to force Carlos' hand down.

"Get off!" Carlos complained.

"Jay," Fairy Godmother said sternly.

"C," Jay declared, clearly not seeing the look that was being levelled at him. "You turn it over to the proper authorities."

"I was gonna say that," Carlos griped.

"But I said it first. Come here!" Jay laughed, putting Carlos in a sleeper hold.

"Ow!"

"Come on, who said it first? _Who said it first_?" he pressed as Carlos struggled to get out of the hold.

"Boys," Fairy Godmother sighed. When she got no response, she snapped her pointer on her podium. "Boys!" They scrambled to get back in their seats. "I am gonna encourage you to use that energy on the _tourney field_. Next period."

"Oh, no…that's okay," Carlos laughed nervously. "Whatever that is…we…we'll pass."

A bell rang and they went their separate ways to the next period. Evie had Chemistry, the boys had PE, and Mal was off to Mathematics.

* * *

⏱⏱⏱

Just before lunch, Mal met up with Evie by her locker to make sure her friend knew where she was going, having spent her free fourth period studying a map of the school and some etiquette to prepare for her afternoon classes.

"Those kids are trouble," she heard a boy gripe loudly as she talked with Evie. She sighed heavily.

"Bye, Mal," Evie sighed.

"Bye. Good luck," she said brightly and Evie hurried off to the theatre. She turned to her locker and put one of her text books away.

"Come on, Chad," Ben sighed and she looked to see Ben, Audrey and another boy (she assumed that was Chad) coming towards her. "Give them a chance."

"Oh," Audrey said in a sickly-sweet tone. "No offense, Benny-bear," she quipped. "But you're just _too trusting_! Look, I know your mom fell in love with a big nasty beast who turned out to be a prince," she laughed. "But with _my mom_ , the evil fairy was _just the evil fairy_ ," she snapped, jabbing a finger towards Mal. "That girl's _mother_."

"I think you're wrong about them," Ben defended. "I'll see you later," he added with a finality that had both of his companions slinking away to get lunch. "Hey!" he greeted, hurrying over to Mal as she shut her locker.

"Hey," she greeted, glad that at least a few people were willing to give them a chance and Ben seemed more eager to spend time with her than his girlfriend.

"How was your first day?"

"Super," she said with mild sarcasm. Everyone she came across, except very few, was giving her a wide berth and her teachers were being difficult. She'd been called on in all three of her morning classes, several times with questions that according to her classmates were not in the current curriculum (hence her decision to try and study ahead a bit) and the librarian had hung disturbingly close to her while she studied.

"It'll get better," he sighed. "Have you at least made any friends? Or maybe you could take this talent to the art club?" he suggested, indicating the painting of a dragon on her locker door. "I could show you where they meet up. They're probably there now. What do you think?"

"I want to wait before joining any clubs," she sighed. "I already got an offer though, from the drama club. And…I don't know if you'd call her a friend, but um…April seems at least willing to talk to me…"

"It's a start then," he said brightly. He said something else, but she didn't hear, noticing Jane hurrying by. Ben mentioned something about trying to make friends and she nodded, thinking of an idea.

"Yeah…I think you're right," she mumbled. "See you around, Ben," she added before hurrying after Jane and catching her in a bathroom fiddling with her hair. "Hi," she greeted. "It's Jane, right? I'm Mal."

"That's cool," Jane squeaked and tried to slip out of the bathroom.

"You don't have to be afraid of me," she sighed. "I…was kind of hoping to make a friend? But…you probably have all the friends you need…"

"Hardly," Jane sighed.

"Really?" she gasped. "I mean, with your mom being Fairy Godmother _and_ headmistress? I thought people would be clamouring to be your friend…"

"Just the opposite," Jane groaned. "Maybe if I was pretty…you know, you've got great hair…"

"I think you're plenty pretty," she laughed. "But you know…I can help out with your hair if you want? I know magic's not really a thing I should be using but…"

"Really? You'd do that? Um…what would you want for it? I could pay you!"

"No need," she said lightly. "This is just…a favour. Let's see…it was…Beware, Forswear, replace the old with…brand new hair," she recited and Jane's hair turned from short and stringy to long, full and wavy.

"Oh my gosh!" Jane gasped. "Can you do my nose too?"

"No," she sighed. "I can't do really big magic…not like your mom could with her wand," she said offhandedly. "I mean, one swoosh from that thing and you could probably have whatever features you wanted…"

"She doesn't use the wand anymore," Jane groaned. "She believes that the real magic is in the books…not the spell books…just the regular books with history and stuff…"

"Well, that's a rip," Mal laughed. "But hey…not everyone can use magic anyways so…it's probably actually better…"

"Yeah…I guess…but I mean, she did all that for Cinderella…sometimes I wonder if she actually cares about me…"

"I'm sure she does," Mal encouraged. Jane smiled at her and hurried out of the bathroom. Mal smiled and looked at her reflection. "Well that was exhausting…"

* * *

⏱⏱⏱

After classes, Jane stopped by Mal and Evie's room while Evie was working on sewing a new outfit.

"Hey Jane," Mal greeted.

"Love the new hair," Evie laughed. "Really frames your face perfectly. And I can totally give you tips on makeup," she offered.

"Thanks!" Jane grinned and flopped onto Mal's bed. "Mom is ridiculous! She got onto me for letting you do my hair, Mal."

"Really? Because I used magic?"

"No," she groaned. "Because 'if a boy can't see the beauty within, then he's not worth it'," she griped. "Maybe I want to look pretty for _me_! What world does she live in?"

"Auradon?" Mal sighed. "Did you tell her that?" Jane nodded and Mal touched the girl's hand gently.

"Mal!" Evie gasped, holding up her work. "Do you like?" She looked.

"Yeah, it's cute," she sighed. "It brings out your eyes."

"I know," Evie laughed and went back to sewing. Mal shook her head and turned her attention back to Jane. Just as she was about to try and say something encouraging, another girl came to the room, knocking on the open door as she stepped inside.

"Hey guys," she greeted. "I'm Lonnie. I love what you've done with Jane's hair. And…I know you hate us…," she trailed off.

"Not true," Mal sighed.

"And…well…you're evil," she continued.

"Also not true," she groaned.

"But do you think you could do mine?"

"Why would I do that for you?" Mal quipped.

"I'll pay you fifty dollars?" Lonnie offered, holding up her wallet.

"Good answer," Evie laughed, taking the money before Mal could say anything else. "I need to buy more material. Let's see…I'm thinking we lose the bangs…maybe some layers? And highlights! What do you think about--"

"No," Lonnie cut her off. "I want it _cool_. Like Mal's."

"Really?" Mal gasped, a little surprised that Lonnie thought her hair looked cool.

"The split ends, too?" Evie quipped. Mal shot her a look and she simply waved the money a bit.

"Fine," she relented. "Okay…beware, forswear, replace the old with…cool hair," she recited and Lonnie's simple bob transformed into long layered waves with light pink highlights. Lonnie gasped when she saw her reflection.

"I know," Evie sighed, going to comfort her. "It looks like a mop on your head," she declared. "You know what? Let's cut it off, I'm thinking pixie--"

"No!" Lonnie argued, cutting her off again. Mal bit back a laugh at Evie's indignant pout. "I love it!"

"You do?" Evie griped.

"It's just…," Lonnie trailed off and ripped a slit in her skirt. " _Now_ I'm cool."

Jane crawled off of Mal's bed and ripped her own skirt. She gasped in horror at her reflection.

"What did I just do? Mom's gonna kill me!" she gasped. Mal shook her head and went to her closet to find something. She pulled out an outfit that she never wore. She never wore it because it was a bit too light for her liking, a pale blue top with lacey insets and a matching skirt.

"Here," she offered.

"That is so cute!" Evie gasped. "How have I never seen that?"

"It was something from my dad…when I told him about my first 'date'…he wanted me to look cute but since we went to her mom's shop and hung around the docks it wasn't really…you know, right for the situation. And it's not really my style anyways…you can have it if you like it, Jane."

"Really?" she gasped. "Thanks!"

"Just…first," she gasped, realizing that Jane was _not_ the same size as she was. She concentrated and waved a hand over the outfit. "There, it should fit."

"Wow…you're really good at magic…," Lonnie commented. "I thought the barrier stopped magic on the Isles?"

"It does, but that didn't stop my dad from teaching me a few of the basics," she said lightly. Jane scooped her new outfit up and headed for the door.

"You guys coming to dinner?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](https://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com/ask) or [buy me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/nakirataisho)

**Author's Note:**

> Hit me up on [Tumblr](https://sorcerymuses.tumblr.com/ask) or [buy me a coffee](https://ko-fi.com/nakirataisho)


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